WASHINGTON – New polls show Democrats doing well in the Great Lakes industrial states that were crucial to President Donald Trump's victory.

Democratic senatorial candidates have double-digit leads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to Ipsos Public Affairs polls released Wednesday. Democrats running for governor in those states also have healthy advantages.

“We went into it thinking that these races were going to be a little bit closer," said Ipsos vice president Chris Jackson. "But it looks like the Democrats are performing pretty strongly across the region with a couple of exceptions.”

The exceptions are a dead heat in Indiana's Senate race and in Ohio's gubernatorial contest.

Trump won Indiana – the home of his running mate – by 19 percentage points and captured the swing state of Ohio by 8 points.

But it's Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that propelled Trump to victory with razor-thin margins in those states.

If Clinton had won the three – as many expected – she would have won the election, but she lost each of them by less than 1 percent of the vote.

Those three states together hadn’t backed a Republican nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Now, a greater share of likely voters surveyed in those states said they're motivated to vote for a candidate who will oppose Trump than those wanting a candidate who will support Trump.

The biggest gap was in Michigan, where 56 percent want a candidate who will stand up to Trump, compared to 41 percent who want a Trump ally.

In Indiana, by contrast, voters are nearly evenly divided in their preference. That could be one reason why Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly is locked in a close contest with Republican challenger Mike Braun.

In all five states surveyed, health care and the economy were the top issue for voters. One in five likely voters in Wisconsin named it the most important issue in determining their vote.

"That really is central to what Democrats are focused on this year," Jackson said of health care.